Depending on where you sit this is either unbelievable or entirely believable but it looks like the Government has gone soft on its big shake-up of the supermarket sector.
You know how the Government was blaming the supermarkets for the cost-of-living crisis, for your veges going up in price because they’re making $1m in excess profits each day?
You know how it’s all their fault?
And you know how Grant Robertson sat in studio with us on Budget Day and said they have to act on supermarkets?
If you believed any of that you’re in for a big disappointment because the big reveal was done about an hour ago and it looks like the Government has basically warned supermarkets to change, at pace, or face regulation.
Does this not feel like the petrol shake-up all over again?
Big words, big words. Not a lot of action.
So, what they’re doing is, they’ve accepted 12/14 recommendations from the Commerce Commission, which, by the way, produced such a pathetic report that it was deemed tame so we’re already off to a bad start here.
They’ve adopted 12/14 recommendations, they’re introducing an industry regulator, a mandatory code of conduct, compulsory unit pricing on groceries and more transparent loyalty schemes.
Well, blow me down, this is going to change everything.
That is so far short of what was on the table originally.
I mean they were talking about forcing supermarket chains to sell off some stores, potentially even bringing in a third operator into the market.
We’re not getting that.
We’re getting the stickers underneath the products telling you the unit price.
You already get that in many supermarkets but now it’s going to be mandatory.
That’s not going to bring down the price of your goods, is it? It’s just going to tell you how much you’re paying.
It’s just a bunch of bureaucracy from the looks of things.
What’s the bet this doesn’t drop your food prices?
What's the bet that we see the same thing playing out as we have with petrol?
We get big promises, get a big shake-up, but in a few months, just a few months down the track, we’re looking back and we say it didn’t do anything.
Things are only more expensive.
You know how the Government was blaming the supermarkets for the cost-of-living crisis, for your veges going up in price because they’re making $1m in excess profits each day?
You know how it’s all their fault?
And you know how Grant Robertson sat in studio with us on Budget Day and said they have to act on supermarkets?
If you believed any of that you’re in for a big disappointment because the big reveal was done about an hour ago and it looks like the Government has basically warned supermarkets to change, at pace, or face regulation.
Does this not feel like the petrol shake-up all over again?
Big words, big words. Not a lot of action.
So, what they’re doing is, they’ve accepted 12/14 recommendations from the Commerce Commission, which, by the way, produced such a pathetic report that it was deemed tame so we’re already off to a bad start here.
They’ve adopted 12/14 recommendations, they’re introducing an industry regulator, a mandatory code of conduct, compulsory unit pricing on groceries and more transparent loyalty schemes.
Well, blow me down, this is going to change everything.
That is so far short of what was on the table originally.
I mean they were talking about forcing supermarket chains to sell off some stores, potentially even bringing in a third operator into the market.
We’re not getting that.
We’re getting the stickers underneath the products telling you the unit price.
You already get that in many supermarkets but now it’s going to be mandatory.
That’s not going to bring down the price of your goods, is it? It’s just going to tell you how much you’re paying.
It’s just a bunch of bureaucracy from the looks of things.
What’s the bet this doesn’t drop your food prices?
What's the bet that we see the same thing playing out as we have with petrol?
We get big promises, get a big shake-up, but in a few months, just a few months down the track, we’re looking back and we say it didn’t do anything.
Things are only more expensive.
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